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Battery Ventures CERTIFIED

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Firm Rating:

Rated 3.1 / 5.0 by 36

TrackRecord

3.4

OperatingCompetence

3.0

PitchingEfficiency

3.0

FavorableDeal Terms

2.9

ExecutionAssistance

3.2

Firm Homepage:

FIRM OVERVIEW: Large Private VC founded in 1983 based out of Menlo Park, US (US West)

FIRM DESCRIPTION: We look to work with entrepreneurs and management teams who are passionate, are willing to think differently, and who set out to have a disruptive and lasting change on a market.

Associates at this firm send emails every few months claiming that they are interested in your space and want to schedule a conference call. Reply asking them which partner is interested in the space and if the firm has made a strategic decision to invest in it. If they respond with details, set up the meeting. Normally they don't respond....

They steal business plans. They aggressively submit early term sheets just to lock up companies and then try to renegotiate. The parters have egos that barely fit through the door and are horrible to work with. This is the type of firm that gives VC's a bad name and my recommendation is to avoid them at all costs. It just isn't worth the frustration.

Posted by
truethat
on 2008-05-21

PUBLIC:

I am sure there are many exceptional people at Battery, but we happened to get a lame duck. They invested in our company some years back, and unfortunately the young partner who lead the deal and took a seat on our board was an arrogant cowboy who made a series of very poor decisions.

Posted by
Anonymous
on 2007-10-15

PUBLIC:

We were introduced to Battery through one of our service providers. They have an investement near our space and opted out before spending our time meeting with them. It was one of those things that could go either way - conflict or complimentary. We appreciated the quick pass and the fact they didn't waste our time.

Posted by
anonymous
on 2007-12-14

These guys are complete snakes. One poster was spot on when he said that they steal business plans and are amoral. They not only stole from us, but also stole a key executive! Stay away from these guys. They pick through you business and take whatever they want to use for any number of their losing plays.

Had an informal discussion with one of the GPs. He was polite and professional. I asked for a follow up meeting to pitch formally and got a "no". At least it was quick and painless with little time wasted on either side.

Definite "Blue Chip" and "Old School" East Coast venture fund. Let's just say that I felt like I was pitching into infinity. Had a junior associate on my case that "was really interested," until quitting...

Posted by
williamson
on 2009-01-22

PUBLIC:

This was a few years ago, but my company had a very good series of meetings with Mark Sherman and had Battery on our short list. He's a bright guy, high energy, seems to love his job, care about growth companies etc. Good alignment there.

Then he set up the presentation to their partners meeting, which was a relationship-ender. A bunch of listless MBAs on both coasts (via satellite) reading their blackberries, failing to make eye-contact, not asking questions and just clearly thinking "this is Mark's deal, I've got better things to do." It was so bad I actually had to ask during the presentation if there was something else they wanted us to focus on (other than, say, our business). It shouldn't matter much, but we love what we're doing and are looking for financial partners who do to. We just walked away thinking these guys (and they were all guys) aren't for us and went another direction.

Is it just me or have others gotten the same cold call message week after week from these guys"

It wasn't totally annoying until I actually spoke to the cold caller, told them we were 3-4 months from going after our series A, but appreciated the interest and sent some information over to them. He continues to call at least once a week - never gets our company name correct and has the exact same pitch as if we never talked or saw the doc's I sent - if they can't even remember we spoke or at least get our company name correct.............what will happen if we actually sit down with them"

Posted by
flip
on 2008-03-02

PUBLIC:

After reading the post on this site about Battery's new seed program, we submitted an e-mail inquiry directly to the team members associated with our industry (financial services), including Seth Kisch in Boston. It's not clear whether there's formally a new seed stage initiative in that office, but Kisch replied to our inquiry (within 5 minutes), inviting us to submit our materials.

Less than 48 hours later, we had an answer (it was a "no" or at least a "not yet", but the feedback we got was thorough and specific). Kisch had quickly picked up on a few of the key risks surrounding the business and noted which one we needed to resolve before they could take a closer look. We definitely plan to follow up once we've resolved the issue identified as the non-starter.

Battery just started doing seed investments, and the process is definitely very entreprenuer friendly. It works like this - you take one 90 minute meeting with several partners, and then they get back to you within 24 hours with a decision on whether or not they're in. They do amounts of about 500K and give you a vanilla term sheet (no board seats etc etc), so you can close the deal and get the money within a week or two. They like it because it lets them build early relationships with promising companies at what (for a large firm like theirs) is a relatively small cost.

We were one of the first companies to pitch them on this new process, and it worked the way they said it would. We came and talked to them, and then got an answer the next day. Even though they passed on the deal, they took the time to call us and give us some pretty detailed feedback about why they said "no", and what they thought we should do both to build the business and if we wanted to raise a series A from them. They also offered to pass us onto some angels/VC firms that might be interested, and actually did this. Even though we didn't end up working with them, I'd still recommend this for any early-stage company that needs to raise hassle free capital quickly and wants to work with a good firm.

Posted by
LatinForMobility
on 2007-11-09

PUBLIC:

I have to admit this is my first start-up, and I had never pitched to VCs, so my co-founder and I were definitely green (not unlike this site) when it came to judging VCs. We pitched a total of 5 firms, got term sheets from 3 of them, including Battery.

We selected Battery based on a few key criteria, namely they were very enthusiastic about our technology (Jason Matlof and Carl Stjernfeldt are were great), and they were up front up about issues that were going to be contentious, so I never felt like we were being duped (having great counsel from our attorneys, Orrick, and more experienced entrepreneurs helped)

Battery has delivered, they way they promised they would. They foster engagements with customers at the CxO level, provide great advice without taking over control of the company, not to mention housed us for almost a year at their offices.

They are not without some drawbacks, but my guess is that is going to be the case with any firm.

Carl Stjernfeldt (now with Castile) is a brutally honest, direct, no-nonsense kind of guy. He has demonstrated his ability to focus on the core issues and work with us to address them effectively, whether we are dealing with operational, financial, or BD related issues. You may find his personality "strong", but I have found that just as he can dish it, he is willing to take it. I consider him a friend and valued colleague.

Jason Matlof is insanely passionate about what he invests in. Having been a VP marketing at a startup, he has good hands on experience and remembers clearly the challenges that startups typically endure. In my estimation, our company would not exist if not for him. His passion needs to be tempered from time to time, but thankfully he is open minded and gives us the room we need to execute.

Ken Lawler stepped in when Carl left to Castile Ventures. While we were sad to see Carl leave, Ken has been a great addition. He complements Jason's technical acumen and "operator" experience with his background of do's and don'ts from his extensive background. A great source of sage advice.

All in all, I am happy, and don't feel screwed (like some of the other comments made here) I have been a reference for Battery, and once we IPO =) will likely go to them on my next startup.

Posted by
jsharp
on 2007-10-08

PUBLIC:

When I was raising money for my last company, I read an article about Battery that referred to them as an "entrepreneur's VC". So I was very pleased when Battery called US to ask for an opportunity to invest (this is rare, indeed!) Battery Ventures continues to exceed our expectations for involvement, assistance with resources, negotiating on our behalf, introductions to C-level people, HR needs and general strategic support. They were tough negotiators, but fair and reasonable and they continue to be a contributing element of our management team. Ultimately, the partner you work with will make a big difference, but we have had positive interactions with a number of partners and are quite pleased with the added value they have brought to the company. Money is important, but the right money that comes with skilled business assistance will really help accelerate your success and your valuation.

Met with Brian to discuss our venture. He was courteous and polite, but clearly did not understand the business plan. At least they were honest into what type of fund they are: late stage and private equity buy-outs. If you are early stage, don't bother. He also promised that he doesn't give out "soft maybes".